Need Help getting started

[Jimena Saravia]

Not sure if my first message went through. I'm ready to get started in beekeeping and need guidance. Can someone help me please? I don't even know what type of bee hive to get. I'm in central East Oakland off high street. 

THanks

Jimena Saravia

[Ronni Brega]

Hi Jimena,  the local beekeeping and equipment resource here in Oakland/Berkeley is Biofuel Oasis in Berkeley; on Ashby and Sacramento.  They have equipment and zoom classes.  Buy a book like Beekeeping for Dummies.  Attend our club zoom meetings on 2nd and 3rd tuesdays.

www.biofueloasis.com

Ronni

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "The Alameda County Beekeepers Association" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to the-alameda-county-beekeep...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/the-alameda-county-beekeepers-association/b64ef3fd-eff4-4759-9ab4-e2abd7602405n%40googlegroups.com.

[Molly Dubow]

Hi Jimena,

I am going to be the voice of a newer beekeeper and counsel you what I wish someone had advised me. 

I would recommend taking classes and being someone's assistant before you get your own hives. Take as many classes as are available to understand the time, money, and energy investment required. Then get hands on experience with as many hives as you can before you are responsible for the health and well being of a hive, as well as the impact the death or swarming of your hive due to mismanagement can have on all the beehives and the neighbors in your area. The classes make it seem pretty straightforward - but every single hive has nuances based on location, individual personality of the hive, placement in your yard.... and a million other variants. (It's so easy to find the queen when it's a photograph that doesn't move, and doesn't have 75 bees crawling all over each other.) The more inspections you've done with someone (who can tell you what you are seeing), the more you can see the patterns developing and you'll be able to make better on the fly decisions in your own hive. When you plan to go in for one thing - the bees often have another plan for you, and if you are not comfortable changing your plan based on what you see - you may be very uncomfortable or end up making a decision that will be detrimental to the health of your hive.

I apprenticed for a season before I got a hive and I honestly could have done another season under my bee master, Paula Breen. She (and others in our club) offer teaching and it's WELL worth the time and money investment. This is the MAIN reason my bee hobby is pleasurable and calm instead of a stressful scary unknown situation. I also feel confident I am not endangering the health of other hives around me because i have a mite treatment plan, and a swarm prevention plan in place.

It also helped me develop my own methodology and principles for my hives. Knowing this helps me make decisions I don't second guess or feel like I have to follow the advice of everything I read. Each beekeeper in our club works their hives based on what they personally know about their girls, so they know what works for them, in their climate, in their years of experience, their goals for their hives, and no one can tell you this except you.

I have two hives and I live very close to you (I'm at Park and the 580) if you ever want to visit my yard and see my two hives. Please feel free to reach out to me 1:1 if you like.

I hope you have a wonderful bee learning experience and grow to love it as much as we do.

Molly

molly...@gmail.com

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/the-alameda-county-beekeepers-association/CAJD3FxA7nzg14GQdqhORhDHsSpTL1Ai7tVNvORXMf0hv-5qwpA%40mail.gmail.com.

[Joel Rambaud]

Don’t be intimidated

 

 

Sent from Mail for Windows 10

--